Creating pathways into the food and fibre sector
Following the success of the inaugural Food Innovation Youth Summit earlier this year, planning is underway for an expanded programme in January 2027.
The three-day summit was designed to showcase the creativity, science and collaboration behind Aotearoa New Zealand’s food industry through a mix of practical workshops, industry engagement and future-focused thinking. It challenged common misconceptions of the sector as a narrow or purely culinary field, instead highlighting food technology as a multidisplinary career that combines science, nutrition, engineering, business and creativity to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
As part of the summit, students explored commercial food production first-hand, visiting leading Manawatū industry partners including Goodman Fielder, Fonterra and Moana New Zealand.
Building on this year’s success, Massey plans to host two summits in 2027: the Food Innovation Youth Summit and the inaugural Rural Innovation Youth Summit. The new programme will introduce students to opportunities across the wider food and fibre sector, including agriculture, pastoral animal management, environmental science and food production.
Together, the summits will help participants discover the breadth of career pathways available and explore where their own interests, strengths and ambitions could lead.
We’re now seeking industry partners and supporters to help make the 2027 programmes even more impactful. We would love to hear from Massey alumni based in Manawatū and working across the food and fibre sector who may be interested in hosting student visits, sharing their expertise, providing sponsorship support, donating products or items for participant giveaways or helping to sponsor refreshments and catering throughout the summits.
If you’d like to be involved, please contact Dr Sarah Golding at s.golding@massey.ac.nz.
To see what students experienced at the 2026 Food Innovation Youth Summit, check out our highlights video and hear directly from participants about their time on campus.